continuing the conversation on today's story goes to our blog at cnn.com/amfix. good to have you around. we'll be back tomorrow. >> have a happy thanksgiving. hopefully we'll see you in the morning. here is heidi collins. >> hi, guys. good morning to you everybody. here's what we're working on in this "cnn newsroom." airports packed, roads filled. following one of the busiest travel days of the year. and pomp and circumstance. the highlights from president obama's first state din didder. the lines are longer than before. one man's turkey giveaway is a sign of the tough times. live pictures for you. good morning. i'm heidi collins. you're in the "cnn newsroom." travel for you and for u.s. troop, we're tracking on both this morning. our jeanne meserve is reporting from washington-reagan national airport. telling us about something that travelers are worrying about this year they didn't worry

about last year. and if you are worried how the weather is going to affect your holiday plans, rob has that story. we'll get to him in ament mo. and also, more u.s. troops heading to afghanistan. our elaine quijano is at the pentagon with the latest on that. on your mark, get set, go. thanksgiving weekend travel begins today as i'm sure you are away. aaa says 38 million people will be on the go, up a little from last year. cnn's jeanne meserve is joining us from washington reagan airport. how does it look? >> reporter: it's amazing. i can tell you about one terminal at one airport in one city, but here it's not congested at all. there aren't lines at the counter, there aren't lines at security. but flights are crowded and when people get together, germs get together and that includes the h1n1 virus. as if anyone needs another reason to stress about holiday travel, now h1n1 anxiety is part

of the mix. >> there was this lady sitting across the aisle from me like blowing her nose and i was like all right, i'm glad we have that distance. i don't want the get sick. there is no way you can get away from it on a plane. >> reporter: this animation from purdue university shows how a sneeze propels germs around an airplane. government health officials have words of advice for travelers. wash your hands often, don't touch your eyes or nose, cover your cough, and don't travel if you're sick. >> don't get on a crowded plane and spread the wealth. it's time to stay home. >> reporter: airlines have briefed crews about h1n1, airtran enlisted a former head of the centers for disease control to answer employee questions. >> can i contract swine flu from loading bags? >> maurice, the bags will not transmit the flu. >> reporter: flight crew

vigilance inconvenienced a few. >> the crew does not feel good about you flying because you might be sick. i didn't know they were all physicians. >> reporter: turned out she did not have h1n1 but united says it removed her as a precaution, to protect the health of other passengers. despite the spector of h1n1 infection many travelers are unconcerned. >> something to live with and make adjustments. you can't let it stop your life. >> if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. there is no reason to get so uptight about it. >> reporter: if you get on an airplane and the person sitting next to you is obviously sick, you can ask to have your seat changed. but, flights are expected to be so crowded this week that there might not be another seat on your flight or the next one or maybe even the flight after that, so you could end up in a totally different predicament. >> we were talking yesterday,

jean, about the fact you can get a hold of a doctor's note if you go to some airlines and say here is my note, i need revise my travel plans. they will do that for you but the point that you make is such a good one because when's the next flight you'll be able to take? >> reporter: that's exactly right. but you're correct about that. we talked to a couple of airlines yesterday who said they need some kind of documentation, doctors note, if you have that, they are happy to rebook you. again, when? >> exactly. all right, jeannie. we'll continue to check in with you throughout the day. jeanne meserve at reagan national airport. what's the weather going to be like for your holiday travel? follow our weather holiday travel advisory, you can see it streaming along the bottom of the screen. my best vanna white impression there. rob with a more detailed look. i'm hearing the northeast is not great. i'm sure you've got a comprehensive view. whoa. all of the planes in the sky.

>> this is more for that reaction than anything. planes aren't this big so they aren't bumping into each other. they are taking off and landing in the northeast where we've seen delays at laguardia, philly as well and d.c., you see also we have radar overlaid in here, across parts of the great lakes. that will be an issue. but of greater concern, really, is is what's going on around south florida. we have a ground stop there at both fll and miami international. until 10:30. they may lift that, but right now thunderstorms look hefty. philly, laguardia, newark and d.c. are in trouble as far as seeing a little bit of delays right now. the ground stop in atlanta has been lifted, the fog and low clouds begin to dissipate. look at the thunderstorms developing across parts of miami up to ft. lauderdale to west palm beach. so, this will be a good hour, maybe two, before it begins to lift. that is some rough and tumble weather. that's why the ground stop is in place. if you're traveling to and from

south florida, give it a little bit. they're going to see problems i think throughout the day. this low is really what the main weather focus is going to be for the next two days. it's not really moving that much. it will spin energy along the back side of it. more importantly, it's really going to bring in some cold air around the back side. i think that's going to be the main focus. there will be a little snow that gets in behind this thing, but wind and cold weather and as this traverses to the south and east along with this front, that's where we're going to see i think most of the -- what you notice, that's what's going to be how it feels, that will be the case today, tomorrow, and right on through the thanksgiving weekend. we'll keep an eye on things throughout the morning, hildy, as this big travel day gets under way. >> 1:00 out of hartsfield if you can get that cleared for me personal hi that would be terrific. rob, thanks. we'll check back. now to afghanistan. the pentagon is planning ahead of president obama's announcement on an influx of troops. elaine is joining us live from

the pentagon with more. what exactly is the pentagon looking at here if they don't have the dele tails quite yet, like the rest of the country, about this possible influx of troops? >> reporter: according to a defense official we spoke with, this is shn with direct knowledge of operation t pentagon planners are expecting orders for roughly 34,000 additional troops for afghanistan. now, this official emphasized that there has been no final word just yet. this is just a number, the approximate number they are looking at. the planning calls for army and marine brigades and support troops. here is a look how the numbers break down. about 15,000 soldiers, roughly 8,000 marines, 7,000 headquarters troops and about 4,000 to 5,000 support troops. the question is, where would all of these troops go? they would be divided, heidi, in various locations throughout afghanistan but focusing mainly on the south and southeast parts of the country.

heidi, that's where you know a lot of the fighting is really taking place. and continuing to do so, heidi. >> a couple of questions, too, where the troops are going to come from. you have a little bit of information on that as well as how long it's going to take to get the troops in theater. it takes a while. this is not a snap of a finger. >> reporter: that's exactly right. top military officials have emphasized that it could take months to do this, defense secretary robert gates and the chairman of the joint chiefs talked about this last week saying there's not really the infrastructure in afghanistan. think about the terrain there, the difficult terrain. there's not a lot of roads, not a lot of infrastructure. one thing that they don't have that they did have in iraq, for instance, is a base nearby. there's no kuwait nearby for them to stage their operation, so for all of those reasons it's going to take a while. you ask where might these troops come from? a couple of likely spots, ft. drum in new york and

ft. campbell, kentucky, both have troops that could be deployed. >> we'll be watching as it develops next week is what we're hearing on this. elaine, thank you. house speaker najsy pelosi may be open to a new tax in order to pay for the war in afghanistan. some house democrats are proposing what they call a share the sacrifice sur tax. all taxpayers would be forced to chip in a. war tax was talked about two years ago but pelosi refused to support it. the lead sponsor of the tax says the war in afghanistan could cost $1 trillion over the next ten years. it was thought to be an anti-government attack in rural kentucky. the killing of a census worker might surprise you. plus, the president's first state dinner. symbolism and substance on the menu.

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let us answer its call and let our two great nations realize all of the triumphs and achievements that await us. cheers. >> president obama toasts washington's deepening ties with india. the first state dinner by the obama white house and amid pageantry, messages of substance and symbolism. >> reporter: the first lady dazzled in her strapless champagne gown. the creation of an indian-born designer. on her arm traditional indian bracelets t. menu ecofriendly and diverse. a potato and eggplant salad with white house-grown arugula. and smoked collard greens for the epicurious. another environmentally conscious touch, a new florist

hired for the occasion. the tented dining room adorned with magnolia branches and ivy. ♪ a place for us >> reporter: the entertainment can't miss headliner jennifer hudson. though the white house wouldn't let her performance be photographed. among the 300-plus guests, hollywood a-list heavyweights like steven spielberg. names like brian williams, katie couric and a brain surgeon we're proud to call our own, dr. sanjay gupta. and the washington crowd included former secretary of state colin powell, new york mayor michael bloomberg and a slightly bewildered energy secretary. >> to the future that beckons all of us. >> reporter: even the toast was short and sweet. >> let our two great nations realize all of the triumphs and achievements that await us.

cheers. >> jill dougherty is joining us with more. there is a lot of preparation that goes into planning one of these. it's not like thawing a tv dinner. what does the white house actually get out of something like this? >> reporter: well, number one, it sends a message to the country that it's honoring that they are important and that's one thing the president wanted to do. it also you know, look at the guest list. there were a lot of very important indian americans at the dinner so that's a nod to their growing political and economic influence. you have to say it's a payback to some donors and supporters during the campaign. finally, it kind of defines the style of the presidency. and this is a fashion forward, very open to other cultures type of administration, i think you're seeing that. and by the way, heidi. i wanted to add a little bit of news. a minute ago we were talking to an administration official who is confirming that president

obama will be going to the copenhagen climate change conference, that's an important sign that the administration supports climate change legislation, et cetera, even though we know not much is going to be coming out of that. he will be attending that, that is in december, not sure exactly the dates. but it's right around the time that he will be in oslo getting the nobel peace prize. >> interesting news, too, on climate change. we'll continue to follow that. jill dougherty in for us this morning. it was a year ago the day before thanksgiving americans watched as a four-day siege of terror began to unfold halfway around the world t. terrorists would kill 160 people in mumbai in an attack so ruthless it became known as india's 9/11. an attorney for one of the men says they have pleaded not guilty. just like the september 11 terror attacks in the united

states, tales of heroism would come out of that chaos in mumbai. among them a train announcer who guided people to safety and made himself a target of the gunmen. sara sidner has that story. >> reporter: in a tiny room in a mumbai slum gongo does her chores filled with regret. she can't stop thinking about the day her family decided to do something they had never done before. we were going on a trip, she says, we had a reservation done. we had never ever traveled by train before. at 9:10 p.m. on november 26, 2008, 12 members of the family showed up a at the train station. as usual it was busy. their train was scheduled to leave in a few minutes. we were about to leave, she says. then we heard a sound.

it was the sound of gun shots. at that moment, two men shown here on closed circuit tv, started randomly shooting into the crowds. from a bird's-eye view, this man saw it happening. they were screaming, shouting and running out, he says. that is when we realized there were terrorists here. he was on duty when the attacks happened. that night, terror was unfolding all over the city, from the train station to five-star hotels. unlike the hotels where there are hundreds of guests a day, here at the main train station in mumbai tens of thousands stream through every day and it's the announcer's job to try and guide them. jenday stayed, using the microphone to try and save lives. the gunmen could hear the announcement, he says, that is

exactly why they came and started firing where the staff inside the train station sit. they were trying to figure out where the announcement was coming from. they never did. the announcements succeeded in getting thousands of people to safety but it was too late for gongo's husband. he was bleeding on the station floor beside her. since my husband died, i am completely shattered. sometimes i feel that i have nobody in this world to call my own. so, she does the only thing she can to get by. pray to the hindu gods for relief. >> sara sidner joining us now. sarah, i know the five-star hotels have seriously beefed up security. but what kind of security is at the train station now one year later? >> reporter: you heard there, there are tens of thousands of people who come in and go out of that train station every day.

i can tell you from being there several times that people are going around, for example, the metal detectors, some are not working. there are, though, there is a visible presence of security. you have several security forces inside holding their rifles. on the outside you have men who are in a barricade with their guns at the ready pointing out toward the crowds in case anything like this might happen again. but certainly if somebody wanted to sneak something in, there is a chance because they aren't really checking bags. they certainly didn't check ours. >> wow. sara sidner, appreciate that. one year later this mumbai attacks. time to look at the other top story weers watching. more than 100 firefighters are trying to get ahead of a wild fire in anaheim hills in southern california. no homes are being threatened but if winds push the fire over a highway, the homes may have to be evacuated. so far 40 acres have burned. remember the census worker found naked, bound and hanging

from a tree in rural kentucky? police now say he killed himself. it was first thought man may have been killed by anti-government extremists. the word "fed" was written on his chest. it's believed he set it up to look like he was killed. your tax dollars at work. uncle sam bought most after failing insurance giant. how do you feel about your top employee getting paid millions of dollars?

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throughout the morning we're going to continue to look at all of the holiday travel. right below me you can see some of the weather conditions across

the country. this is a live look right now at atlanta hartsfield airport. we are watching that because that is the busiest airport in the country. a lot of people there, one good thing i'm noticing since i'm headed there later is that the lines are not streaming out the door like last year. that is very nerve-racking to say the least. we'll continue to look at pictures like this. i also recall, i believe earlier rob marciano was telling me earlier this morning there had been a ground stop put in place in atlanta. that has since been lifted, weather clearing a little bit there. so, if you're traveling through, that's a good sign. i guess we're at about 30-minute delays right now. also chicago's o'hare airport. jay miller, of wgn is there for us. this is a very, very busy place as well. right in the middle of the country. can really mess up people's travel if they are crisscrossing the u.s.

>> reporter: that's right. it's smooth sailing i'm happy to report at o'hare. holiday travel is down this year compared to previous years when the economy was stronger but you really wouldn't be able to tell that, judging by the crowd here this morning. people were lined up actually at 4:00 this morning. more than 2.4 million travelers are expected between today and monday here at o'hare and midway. today is actually the second busiest travel day of the season. the monday after thanksgiving is the busiest here with roughly 200,000 passengers expected. travelers we talked to this morning say dealing with the long lines and crowds is all in the attitude, making sure you remain positive and patient. again, no major problems to report here at o'hare this morning. as i look up at the boards, there are no cancellations, no delays. but that could change, it's early. one thing i want to mention, travelocity is doing something cool, offering something called

thanksgiving task force at 12 airports across the country. basically they have somebody there to answer any question you may have about your travel arrangements, parking, check-in, anything you may need to know, they're going to be on site to handle it. make sure you check that out at your airport. that is the latest live at o'hare. i'm jae miller. heidi, back to you. >> how's the weather looking there? >> reporter: it is so dreary. it is dreary, it's gray. but you know what, you got to be thankful. it's not raining. >> that's a good sign. jae, we appreciate it. your tax dollars bailed out an insurance giant. how do you feel about the top guy at this government-owned company making millions of dollars? for more than 30 years, we've helped thousands... suffering from mesothelioma. get your free copy by calling 800.946.9646.

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wall street has a mountain of economic reports to sift through today as we look at the opening bell that rang a couple minutes ago. so, i want to go to new york and bring in susan lisovicz and see how traders may react today. hi there, susan. >> reporter: good morning, heidi. the reports are mostly upbeat so we're expecting, yes, a slightly higher open. new jobless claims, finally fell below the half a million mark. 466,000 people joined the unemployment lines last week, that's the smallest number in over a year. continuing claims fell as well. there's also upbeat news for retailers just ahead of black friday. consumer spending picked up in october, rising .7% fueled by slightly higher incomes. a road block for general motors. a deal to sell its saab brand fell through after a swedish brand opted out.

unless another icon in atlanta decides to come through, heidi. >> i'm so proud of you on your pronunciation of that company. >> reporter: i'm familiar -- i'm familiar with the automaker as i'm sure you are. we saw something, however, similar happen a few months ago when a deal to sell saturn fell through. gm was forced to shut saturn down. toyota having trouble as well, saying it will replace gas pedals on 4 million recalled vehicles, toyota recalled the cars in september because the pedal became stuck and the car could accelerate. toyota initially blamed the problem on floor mats. checking the early number, yep, we're seeing a little bit of a gain. maybe not. maybe the folks are tired. we're a minute into the trading. but the markets will be closed tomorrow for thanksgiving and

open a half session on friday. >> last chance to trade stock. susan, thanks. we'll check in later on. aig, the american tax payer owns most of it. what do you think about paying the top employee $7 million. stephanie, hi there. >> yeah. he basically has a chance to make $10.5 million. we're talking about robert boshea of aig, he took the position in august. he has signed this non-compete agreement and the non-compete means when he leaves he can't go on to another insurer. he can't take his trade secrets and carry them to another company. this total compensation, $3 million in cash, and then he'll get $4 million in aig stock, then the bonus could reach up to $3.5 million there for him. it's interesting because he's reportedly tletdened to quit several times from the job, basically because he has a problem with how much control the government has over the

money that is being spent, what they are paying executives a at company like aig, but he then put out a statement saying he is committed to the job and helping to get aig back on its feet. aig is one of the seven companies that the pay czar, obama's pay czar, is in charge of taking a look at what they are paying their executives so because of that they have to answer back to the government. keep in mind, heidi, not that anyone probably will forget this, but $182 billion was handed over to aig in bailout funds last fall. because of that the government owns 80% of the company. so people do care what's going on at aig and some saying it was overall a healthy company with this one sick part of it association there's value there and this company could come back and get strong and get back on its feet. >> if you are an investor, you better hope it does well. >> you are an investor. american taxpayer, so therefore,

do wish this company good tidings as they head into hopefully greener pastures. >> yeah. everyone will be watching. thank you, stephanie elam. so getting there for thanksgiving of course the first issue. here's what we know about the holiday weekend travel. aaa says about 38 million people are expected to travel in the united states. 33 million will go by car. overall travel is up but down from 2005. 58 million made the trip then. travelers are taking something with them, they didn't have last thanksgiving. that is a bit of concern over swine flu. whether you go by air, rail or bus, health experts have a few tips for you. wash your hands often. don't touch your eyes or nose. cover your cough. and don't travel if you're sick. >> there was this lady sitting

like across the aisle from me like blowing her nose. i was like all right, i'm glad we have that kind of distance. i don't want to get sick. there is no way you can get away from it when you're on a plane. >> something to live with and make adjustments. you can't let it stop your life. >> if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. there's no reason to get so up tight about it. >> now, here's the scoop. if you can document you have h1n1, like with a doctor's note, the airlines say at least some of them, they will rebook your travel without penalty. the question, of course, hi, rob marciano, what flight are you going to get on after you cans tl first one? people want to get there. and you're the man to tell them how to do that at least weatherwise. it. yesterday i got to meet one of the people that do just that, which is fascinating thing. they scramble, trust me. if your flight gets canceled, equipment breaks down. >> you were down in the base of the operational center for delta airlines. >> not the basement but the

bowels. >> i was trying to avoid that word. >> it's the expanded operation of delta's operations control center now with northwest combining. it's pretty big. it was impressive. they are probably busier today than yesterday. couple of weather issues to deal with. one across south florida. the northeast doesn't look too bad though visibility may be a problem in spots. windy and cold. keep an eye on those two words. they will be infiltrating the eastern two thirds of the country. dry across parts of california. santa ana winds so fire threat relatively high. south florida we have the ground stops until 10:30. philly, atlanta, houston, laguardia, newark and d.c., these are a combination of some low visibility, low clouds and also volume because we're starting to crank things up. south florida, west palm beach to miami, looking at heavy thunderstorms here. some of these did damage across the central keys. marathon reporting trees down

and even some power lines down so hefty rainfall here and that is the reason the ground stop is in effect at least for the next hour, they may extend that across ft. lauderdale and miami. separate system, this one's a slow mover. good news is it's not terribly strong as far as precipitation goes and storminess. it will bring down the cold air and in spots a little snow. we're seeing that across western parts of minnesota. i don't think for the most part it will be terribly accumulating. cold, damp, in the 40s. here you go, the thanksgiving forecast looking for cold air and a sliver of snow to get down across parts of the western plains there. might see an inch or two in spots. generally accumulations shouldn't be bad. and for the thanksgiving day parade, pop this up for new york city, cloudy skies. maybe some spits, maybe a spritz or two today, tomorrow, temps in the 50s, then the cooler weather for friday with rainfall there. and windy conditions for saturday and sunday. it will be chilly as far south

as, well, georgia and atlanta where the delta operations is. i think we'll see temperatures overnight in the city near freezing. >> really. >> so take those precautions for winter-like weather. >> time to start decorating for christmas. >> that will get you in the mood. >> rob, thank you. we'll check back later. at the bottom of the screen you can see a lot of information about the holiday forecast for you in case you are traveling today. also, guys like that are popular now. later on this morning, is that real sound or are we adding that? we're adding that. that's not real. president obama is going to take part in a white house tradition, you know, pardoning the turkey. this year's lucky turkey is appropriately named courage. he comes from a farm in princeton, north carolina. courage will be ready for this

morning's ceremony. i don't think he has a speaking part but an alternate turkey will be on standby in case courage is unable to perform his duties. after the pardon courage will fly to disneyland -- i can't believe how long this story is, where she'll serve as grand marshall of the thanksgiving parade. and then black friday will be spent settling into a new home in frontierland. now you know everything you need to know about the turkey pardoning. get your paper and pen and slide closer to the tv. we have a sneak peek of black friday deals just for you.

collecting the top stories now. the man who brought large screens to arenas and helped revitalize part of downtown washington is dead. washington wizards owner abe pollin died yesterday. antoiawn jamison said good job, men, it's going to be tough. pollin build two arenas and the capital center with his own money. there were luxury boxes and the verizon center built in an area torched by riots. pollin tried to run his team as a family business.

several of my family members worked for him, in fact. now check out these incredible pictures of the shuttle "atlantis" circling the earth. we don't normally see this. "atlantis" undocked from the space station earlier today t. crews stocked the station with supplies and didrepairs that should keep it going for another five to ten years. the shuttle is scheduled to land friday in florida. police are calling him the doom and gloom bandit. a bank robbery suspect gave the teller demanding money and a story he had cancer. the suspect also said he was once an employee of the bank. he left with an undisclosed amount of cash. the teller said he was crying as he walked out. police have not found him yet. for a lot of people thanksgiving is a day they fuel up and rest up before black friday. if you're one of those people we want to help you make the most of the day. so we brought in our shopping guru, personal finance editor

gerri willis. you're giving us great tips all along. where are the biggest deals on friday? i guess it might depend on what time you get up. >> that has a lot to do with that, right. we will all know about the door busters, right, the $3 appliances at target, the washer drier for 580 bucks at sears. but the truth is many of these door busters have limited quantities, sometimes as little as two or three per store. so, we hunted around for deals that will stick around this black friday. you can save about 100 bucks on 32-inch lcd flat screen tvs on black friday for $380 at most retailer, the average price is 500 bucks. you can save about $40 on average this black friday on gps devices, digital photo frames are discounted and digital cameras going for about $100 on black friday a saving of about $30. this year more retailers are

luring consumers by concentrating on the dollar price point. so you are going to have to pay attention to the prices that you see in the store. >> very good s. there any way to keep track of all of the deals, to know you should go to this store and then this store and maybe this one? >> it's tricky but the good news is that you can use social networking sites. many sales and ad leaks are being tweeted, so why not follow them on twitter. one advantage to using twitter is having up-to-the-minute tweets sent to your cell phone. type in twitter.com/black friday. if tweeting is not your thing, i know a lot of people are not big tweet fans, you can track black friday deals through facebook, if have you an iphone there is a bar code scanner out. you're in the store, you can the bar code and see if you can get

it anywhere else for less money. so save money this friday. if you have to go into the stores, that's the way to do it. >> save your energy, too. for sure. all right. gerri willis, thank you. for 20 years a south florida man provided food for those in need. people are lining up again today for his thanksgiving turkey hand-out. something is different this year. pure cane sugar and the stevia plant. two of nature's sweetest wonders growing together under the same sun. and now for the first time, in new sun crystals ® .

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[ male announcer ] every penny counts. so does every moment. make the most of both this holiday season with great gifts at great prices from l.l. bean. ♪

millions of muslims traveling to the holy city of mecca. the annual pilgrimage begins today. muslims believe their sins are forgiven by completing rituals in and around mecca. learning of more lives loss in a massacre in the philippines. death toll now 57 according to state run media. authorities found more bodies after discovering dozens yesterday. officials believe the killings were politically motivated. the dead include relatives of a candidate for governor and journalists who were traveling with them. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is wrapping up his tour in venezuela meeting with

president hugo chavez today. iran had a hand in building up venezuela's industrial complex. early mr. ahmadinejad stopped in brazil and bolivia. both are critical in efforts to curtail iran's nuclear program. it's been ten years since elian gonzalez first came to the united states. fisherman pulled the boy out of the water. he was at the center of a high profile custody case that further strained u.s./cuba relations. today he's a member of cuba's young communist union. tomorrow night a special cnn presentation to help instill that holiday mood. cnn heroes. every day people changing the world. on our website you can learn more about amazing things these heros are doing and how you can help. here to explain how is our own josh levs. a hero in his own right. i won't bring up the story unless you want to bring up

deliver your own baby in your own house. >> so not a hero. that is what happened. it was not planned. we'll talk about that at the end. let's get to real hero first. these people are the real heros. you should check this out at this site. let's zoom in here. top ten heros for this year. what they've done are amazing things sometimes under some tough conditions. this is the site here. cnn.com/heroes. we show you the top ten. here is one example. >> after my mother died from domestic violence, i told myself that no girl or woman would suffer the same. i started to provide a safe place for girls to heal from abuse. when a girl gets to the villages, she's provided with emergency medication, reinstatement in school and counseling. it gives them the confidence to

transform from victims to leaders. >> that's betty there in zimbabwe. a leader to protect girls from sexual abuse. you can learn more about her foundation that has rescued ten of thousands. once you're at cnn.com/heroes, you click on the part that says how to help. boom. we'll hook you up with the organization right there. you can make a contribution. you can get involved if you would like. let's look at another one of the top ten heroes. this is a bus driver that cooks meals for the hungry every night. take a look. >> in the beginning it was eight guys. two weeks later it was 24. 110, 120, sometimes 140. there will be enough food for everybody. i have my family, my sister, i have a home. i have stable job. whatever i have wanted, i have. they are alone. they have nothing. they don't even have a place to

stay. they don't have a place to sleep. >> he cooks them food every night of his life. every single night. beautiful stories. all at cnn.com/hereoes. you can log on and also facebook and twitter. these are real heros. inspirational to see their stories. i'm psyched about the show tomorrow. >> we already know who won. what can you tell us? >> this is him right here. this is efren penaflorida who does some fascinating as well. gives filipino youth an alternative to gangs. >> this is the school on wheels, right? >> amazing what he does. reaches out to kids who would likely be inside gangs and brings them inside this educational program providing them from being available to gangs on the streets. >> are you coming back next hour? we are going to hear your story. >> we'll figure something out. >> all right. we'll figure it out.

josh, thank you. we do have a lot going on this morning as always. our cnn crews are in place to bring you details. i want to check in with our correspondents beginning with the weather guy. everyone wants to know what's the deal for their holiday travel. >> we do have some delays this morning because of a couple weather systems that are traversing across the country. we'll speak about that. plus, some unusually cold weather for this time of year. if you have some outdoor plans after thanksgiving on the eastern coastline, you may want to pack warmly or at least dress warmly. talk about that at the top of the hour. >> i'm susan lisovicz in new york where we have some upbeat readings on the economy. unemployment lines are shrinking, consumers are spending and we're expecting new home sales to rise. i hope to have a trifecta of positive reports in the next hour. i'm elaine quijano live at the pentagon with president obama preparing to announce his afghanistan decision soon, planning here at the pentagon is already well under way. i'll have details coming up.

>> very good. thanks so much, guys. we'll also hear from an economist who wants you to release your inner scrooge this holiday season. ♪ to stop chasing sales ♪ ♪ when i'd rather be ♪ ♪ having story time by the tree ♪ this christmas, you don't have to chase sales. walmart checks other store's prices so you don't have to-- and if there's a better advertised price out there, they'll even match it. christmas costs less at walmart. save money. live better. walmart.

jeep. knowing reality isn't captured by a hidden camera. it doesn't come in episodes either. you see i don't live to live through anyone ever. so while everyone waits to see the next best this or an unbelievable that. here's the reality. there's no rerun when your living in the now. so while you tune in i'll be somewhere getting out. i live. i ride. i am. jeep. >> this is jeff norman. he doesn't get health insuranc

for two decades paul snow has been feeding the less fortunate and now due to tough times the number of people in need is growing. john zarrella is joining us live from florida where snow is handing out thanksgiving turkeys. we've been watching the picture all morning long and the line is getting long. >> reporter: it stretches down that block there and they really expect to hand out about 1,500 turkeys. they started handing them out at 9:00 this morning. florida marlins baseball team is here helping out. giving out these turkeys. you see the birds are good size. 20-pound turkeys. it's really a sign of the economic times. a lot of these people in this line coming here and getting bread and vegetables and fruits. a lot of people have never, ever been in these kinds of lines before. have never had had to do this but again a sign of the times.

paul, you've been doing this for 20 years. the last couple years, paul, you've really seen an increase in the number of people you've had to serve. >> just since recession i've seen 39% increase. >> reporter: 39% increase. why do you do this? >> i don't know. i've been doing it so long. i volunteered one day 20 years ago when i was waiting for my disability and. >> reporter: you've been here ever since. >> since then i lost a leg and had a pacemaker put in. >> reporter: you're here every week giving out food. 12,000 families he's served this year. the numbers, paul told me, when he first started doing this there were 11 families that came out here 20 years ago. pardon me. >> we really appreciate it. without him, i wouldn't be able to eat every month that i come

and get food here. so god bless us with a place like this that cares about people like me that live on ssi and have not a penny for food. >> reporter: you're going to have a good thanksgiving now? >> yes, i am. >> reporter: your name? >> my name is sharon. i don't have any family so this is the best. >> reporter: thanks so much. everybody in this line with a smile on their faces, heidi, because of all of the good that paul and the volunteers here do week after week and especially on the holidays. i see a lot of people will have a much better holiday than they might otherwise have had. >> no doubt about it. what a great story. we do love it. john zarrella reporting for us from florida today. thank you, john. cnn, your holiday travel headquarters. millions of people are driving and flying. we are tracking airport conditions across the country.

rob marciano is in the weather center with the latest. trouble spots we need to get to right away? >> let's do that. looking at ft. lauderdale, miami, they extended that ground stop we told you about until 11:30. big thunderstorms rolling through south florida at the moment. weather less of an issue for newark, philadelphia and laguardia. we are seeing delays for combination of volume and visibilities aren't ideal. there's some fog and low clouds in spots so we're watching that. flight explorer computer showing volume across the northeast with 5,000 planes in the air right now and west coast is waking up and those flights out of l.a., san francisco and seattle will certainly be ramping up volume and we'll see over 6,000 at some point today during the height of this travel. mentioned severe thunderstorms across parts of florida. got a good wave of low pressure down there. the northeastern third right now east of the mississippi not too bad. low level moisture in spots. windy and cold across parts of

the midwest. we're also seeing dry weather and fire hazards still across parts of southern california. we take you into southern florida and red on the map you know is not good. some of these thunderstorms have brought damaging winds to parts of the keys and right now bringing that ground stop for the airports in south florida. area of low pressure is a weak one but the problem is a slow one. it's going sit here looks like and kind of push in energy to the eastern third of the country over the next day or two. there will be a sliver of snow that develops along the backside of this and lake-effect snows but major cities won't see accumulating snow. that's good news. everybody eastern half of the country will get a taste of this cold air if not today, if not tomorrow, around about friday. we'll update those travel conditions throughout the morning today. >> okay. very good. the collins clan on the outer banks all watching and counting on you today. >> i would head out there and take a dip. >> thanks.

a couple new measures of the economy this morning to talk about. americans are opening their wallets again according to the commerce department. consumer spending rose a brisk 0.7 of a percentage point last one. the increase in consumer spending considered an encouraging sign for the economic recovery. also, making economic news, fewer than expected are filing their first claims for unemployment benefits. the new number for last week, 466,000. the lowest in 14 months. still a big, big number, however. we are also watching these numbers. dow jones industrial averages to the positive now just by about 20 points or so. resting at 10,453. we'll continue to watch those numbers throughout the morning. last day of trading before thanksgiving tomorrow. preparing for the new strategy in afghanistan. president obama expected to announce his decision early next week. cnn's elaine quijano has more on how the pentagon is moving ahead

and the possible number of troops that could be involved. >> reporter: on the heels of the president's last scheduled war council meeting to review afghanistan strategy, pentagon planners are now expecting orders to send about 34,000 additional u.s. troops to afghanistan according to a defense official. the planning calls for army and marine brigades and support troops but top military officials have made clear getting any additional forces into the country will take months because of a lack of roads and other infrastructure. >> i anticipate that as soon as the president makes his decision we can probably begin flowing some forces pretty quickly after that but it is a bigger challenge than certainly was the case in iraq. >> we had in iraq a place of a staging base in kuwait. we don't have that in afghanistan. >> reporter: the 34,000 troops would be less than 40,000 that general stanley mcchrystal a top

u.s. commander in afghanistan, wants. but one official says nato allies would be asked to help fill in that gap. >> if the president decides to commit additional forces to afghanistan, there would be an expectation that our allies would also commit additional forces. >> reporter: for his part the president vowed the afghanistan war will end on his watch. >> it is my intention to finish the job. >> reporter: but questions persist about afghanistan's shaky government and the ability of afghanistan forces to take over security responsibilities. can one realistically put a date certain on finishing the job in afghanistan? >> it's unknowable how long it will take but i think we all have to work with the idea that we have goals, landmarks, things to shoot for to get this done. >> elaine quijano joins us live from the pentagon with more on this. we've been talking for a long time about when this announcement would come out and

when the american public will learn how many troops will be sent to afghanistan. what will happen next? will we have an understanding as to how they came to the number and then of course where the troops will be used and where they'll come from? >> reporter: yes. we have a sense already of this. a lot of the fighting as you know in afghanistan is happening in the south and southeast parts of that country so in answer to your yes about where the troops might go, it's very clear that a lot of these forces might be headed in those parts of the country. now, what happens next? obviously the orders would begin then for troops to start flowing into the country but as we heard from secretary gates in that piece there, that will take time. i can tell you that a senior military official told us that there is a plan in place for some testimony to kind of illuminate members of congress and the public on how all of this is going to work. we know that general stanley mcchrystal is expected to testify at some point. we also know that secretary

robert gates, the defense secretary, and the chairman of the joint chiefs will be testifying as well. as for exact dates on that, that's fluid at this point. but as you mentioned, the president is expected to make his announcement early next week sometime and then not too soon after that is when we might see the officials heading to capitol hill to testify. >> is there any talk about what the holdup is? it feels like we have a good sense of what the number is and where the troops are going to go, how they're going to be used, why not just announce it? >> reporter: we heard from president obama himself that it wouldn't happen this week. there are conversations still taking place and some moving parts still behind the scenes. that's a question perhaps the folks at the white house may be able to answer as well but from this perspective here at the pentagon what they've been doing in the interim is to go ahead and look at that rough number, that 34,000, and figure out how exactly they can make that

number work. they are saying, look, don't hold us to that 34,000. that's just the approximate figure that we've been given and from that they are drawing up their plans in anticipation of what the president might announce next week. >> all right. elaine quijano, sure do appreciate it from the pentagon this morning. something to mention here, nato may be sending close to an additional 5,000 troops to afghanistan. british prime minister gordon brown says ten member nations are promising more troops. nato, along with the u.s., make up the international security force in afghanistan. there are around 45,000 nato troops there right now. onto health care reform. congress debates a final bill and lawmakers may want to consider a hotel in florida in addition to restaurant and gift shop, there's a health care clinic. it's not for the guests. it's for the employees. cnn's jim acosta with the story. >> reporter: at this health clinic in orlando, florida, there's no such thing as no

vacancy. it's located inside a hotel. it's run by the hotel's owner who started the clinic 18 years ago to see if he could cover all of his employees and save money. >> there is an apprehension, a fear, an anxiety on the part of most employers to step into an area they know very little about. we did it at the cost less than the national average. we emphasize wellness. >> reporter: he dumped his insurance company, hired his own doctors, nurses and support staff, all of it at little cost to his employees. there's a catch. >> if you smoke, jim, you can't work for me. >> reporter: the employees have to follow the rules or risk losing their coverage. smokers have to quit. heavy set workers have to go on weight loss programs, and so on. >> there's a bit of big brother looking over to make sure that you're following the regimen. >> reporter: you're big brother? >> i don't like that very much.

i am not a fan of any big brother but i am. >> reporter: the assistant manager at one of the hotels lost 100 pounds with the clinic's help. you're glad they nudged you? >> yes. it changed my life. >> reporter: the clinic's approach does have its critics who say it's an invasion of privacy. >> the idea of providing wellness care is wonderful but if i choose not to follow-up care with a doctor, that's my decision. >> reporter: it's not the critics that worry him. it's congress. you would think with the health care system he put in place here, he would be a big fan of democratic plans for health care reform but the message at this health care hotel is the opposite. it's do not disturb. under the democratic proposals in congress, rosen says he would save money by shutting down his clinic forces his employees into a government plan and paying a government imposed penalty. >> i hate to close this facility down. it means so much to all of us.

>> reporter: including harris rosen who seems to enjoy providing health care whether it is in spanish or french more than he likes running the fanciest of his seven hotels. >> some of my friends will probably not be happy with what i'm about to say but i do believe that it's a right. >> reporter: jim acosta, cnn, orlando. farmers grew the crops but sometimes grew poorer when they sold them. some are reinventing the way they do business. or maybe our new savory shrimp jambalaya. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. so, at national, i go right past the counter... and you get to choose any car in the aisle. choose any car? you cannot be serious!

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want to make sure we get this out to you. we understand that president barack obama will make that announcement regarding troop deployment to afghanistan on tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. we're trying to get more information about where exactly that will be on television or which networks will be carrying it, if any. at this point what we know is that president obama will announce the troop deployment plans 8:00 p.m. on tuesday of next week. we'll get more to you just as soon as we learn it here. we also have a recall to tell you about involving 110,000 toyota tundra talks from the 2000 through 2003 model years registered in cold weather states. federal regulators say road salt causes corrosion to the truck's frame causing the spare tire underneath to fall off.

in the pacific northwest some farmers are changing the way they do business so they can stay in business. they're banding together to shun the risky commodities market and take crops straight to the customer. it's a winning approach on many levels. cnn's jason carroll explains. >> reporter: fred flemming's family has been working this land in lincoln county, washington, for so long, president cleveland deeded the property to his great grandfather more than a century ago. he used to be addicted to traditional farming but not n m anymore. >> i'm ten years into my program. my name is fred. >> reporter: for years flemming worried and wondered why there wasn't a better way to sell his wheat other than the conventional way selling it through the commodities market where prices fluctuate so much it drives some farmers to bankruptcy.

so flemming stopped doing things the old way. you are doing something different, right, fred, in that you are marketing directly to those who want your product. >> right. we actually develop a relationship with our customers. >> reporter: flemming formed sheppard's grain. farmers sell directly to customers. >> it's like what starbucks did with coffee. we're putting pizzazz to wheat. >> reporter: flemming got his friend and fellow farmer to help together deciding they would set their own price based on production costs allowing for more stability especially in troubled times. >> you have to cover your cost of production. agriculture doesn't play in that game. hasn't played in that game. >> reporter: you're playing a different game. >> reporter: this is the uniqueness. it appealed to mike when he joined two years ago. >> it's a long-term plan that i

think is showing more popularity and will increase in the future. >> reporter: that approach attracted customers across the pacific northwest. stable prices and local connection equals more sales. their customers like seeing a shepherd's grain label and tracing products back to their farmers. >> we started marketing that around the area and sales exploded. >> reporter: higher sales and consumers knowing their farmers like they did years ago. fred's great grandfather would be proud. >> we excited my customer base. they are truly what have our future in their hands. when they buy products from us then they can truly impact the world. >> farming networks are becoming more common around the country. farmers say smoothing out the peaks and valleys of crop sales is especially important in a bad economy. remind you of something we

told you a moment ago. we have information now and have been able to confirm that the president will be making the announcement regarding troop deployment to afghanistan on tuesday night. it's going to happen at 8:00 p.m. that announcement will be made from west point. obviously we'll be carrying it live for you but just a reminder because we've been talking about it for a long time as to how many troops will end up being deployed to afghanistan. the president making that announcement 8:00 p.m. from west point on tuesday night. we'll have it here on cnn. the nfl gives into pressure and changes its policy on head injuries.

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on the eve of the first anniversary of the mumbai terror attac attacks, pakistan is charging seven men with planning and carrying them out. all could face the death penalty and all pleaded not guilty. at least 160 people died in the four-day assault last year. nine of the attackers were also killed. cnn learned president obama will go to copenhagen, denmark, december 9th. the president will attend part of the united nations climate change conference. the white house previously announced the president would be in norway december 10th to accept the nobel peace prize. the man who helped revitalize downtown washington is dead. we're talking about abe pollin.

the verizon center was built in an area torched during riots in 1968. he was 85 years old. hits, grabs, tackles, and injuries. all part of any game of football. the nfl has gotten a lot of criticism lately for the way teams deal with concussions and other head injuries. and now it's changing its policy. the league will require teams to get advice from an independent doctor for any player with a head injury. joining me now with players reaction to the new policy, medical director for the nfl players association. doctor, thank you for being with us. i know the nfl players association has approved this new policy. tell us exactly what the agreement was that you reached with the nfl. >> d. smith, executive director of the players association, is

passionate about the health, safety and welfare of our players and he empowered me to reach out to the nfl and my counterpart with the league to begin discussions about how we could move aggressively to improve the concussion care of the players. dr. pellman and i have be been working for the past several weeks identifying independent new experts who can give an opinion with return to play decisions and how players will return once they've been pulled out of a game. we're pleased with that progress. we expect more progress in the future. >> it does need to be a neurologist, correct? >> someone who is not just familiar with concussions but sports concussions and how best to manage them. >> the initial decision about whether or not that player will be taken out of the game or off the field, will that be made by

team doctors? >> we expect the consultants to be available to them to help make a decision on whether a player can return to play or not return to play. we asked for an airway physician to be present at every game to make sure in case a player was paralyzed and needed an airway, a physician is available for that. >> as we mentioned the football is a violent game. everyone expects that there will be injuries. what does all of this center around? >> well, it centers around the players association as i said d. smith is deeply committed to making sure that in this violent game that we are protecting our players as much as we can. they are players as patients and not players as property. our desire is to make sure we prevent as many head injuries as we can and to care for them both

on the sideline management and in the postgame management return to play decisions and i think both players association and nfl feel an obligation to college players to high school players and peewee youth football players to set an example. >> absolutely. isn't this also about what happens to them in their lives after football? >> all players will end up being retired players. the average span is several years. we want to make sure when they sit looking at their daughters, looking at their sons and grandchildren that they have been protected as best they can on a long-term basis and not just on a short-term basis. >> i know co-chairman for the nfl's committee on concussions, two doctors actually resigned regarding all of this. i know that you know them well. do you think the new policy and the attention that it is being given is going to be enough and is going to help with the health of nfl players?

>> you're an educated woman. all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare. this is an excellent move to try to help improve the health and safety of the players. that said, we're going to continue to move forward. i do know from speaking with d. that he's very appreciative of commissioner goodell and i'm appreciative of my counterpart to say we'll do the best to protect our players. >> very good. dr. tom mayer. appreciate your time. medical director for the nfl players association. thanks, dr. mayer. looking for a reason to stay out of the mall for the next month or so? you'll love our next guest. he says holiday gift giving is a big fat waste of time and money. ♪ [ female announcer ] arthritis targets your body where it's weak. where it's vulnerable. ♪

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welcome to the now network, population 49 million. right now 1.2 million people are on sprint mobile broadband. 31 are streaming a sales conference from the road. 154 are tracking shipments on a train. 33 are iming on a ferry. and 1300 are secretly checking email on a vacation. that's happening now. america's most dependable 3g network. bringing you the first and only wireless 4g network. right now get a free 3g/4g device for your laptop. sprint. the now network. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com sprint. the now network. band now we're insuring overts do18 million drivers. gecko: quite impressive, yeah. boss: come a long way, that's for sure.

and so have you since you started working here way back when. gecko: ah, i still have nightmares. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. getting there for thanksgiving. certainly most of the battle. here's what we know about the holiday travel weekend. aaa says about 38 million people are expected to travel in the united states.

33 million of them will go by car. overall travel up just a bit from last year but way down from 2005. 58 million people made thanksgiving trips then when the economy was much stronger. aaa predicts 2.3 million people will fly over the thanksgiving weekend. that's down from last year. let's check in to see how things are going at reagan national airport. pamela is joining us from our affiliate w affiliate. how do things look now? >> reporter: we've been here since 5:00 this morning. it's been quiet all morning long. a big difference compared to a few years ago on the day before thanksgiving. aaa says more people are opting to drive rather than fly over the holidays. it's considered the busiest travel day of the year but at reagan national airport it looks just like a typical day. >> deserted.

nobody here. >> reporter: traveling by air is down 5% compared to last year. down 60% since the year 2000. some say it's clear the economy is still taking a toll. >> i think people are being more cautious and not just traveling freely like they used to. they think more about what they're doing and if it is really worth it. >> reporter: with added hassle of going through security and added surcharges, they say their attitude has changed. >> it's one of the most important times of the year to be with your family and to have to spend all of this extra money just to go home is unfair. >> hi to pay $25 to check my bag. that comes out of my own pocket. i could have gone shopping. >> reporter: aaa says driving is still the preferred option for travelers this holiday season but not necessarily the better option. more than 33 million people are expected to hit the roads this holiday. >> a very uncomfortable mix out there. you have people trying to get out of town. other people trying to get last

minute fixings for the turkey. you have shoppers and commuters and the people trying to drive away on their vacation. >> reporter: aaa says by mid afternoon the roads will be packed by those heading out of town and drivers coming home from work so leave as early as possible or wait for rush hour to wind down. back live here at reagan national airport. weather could impact your travel plans today. there are delays and cancellations at two major hubs, that's miami and laguardia that will cause ripple effect across the country and impact you if you're driving today. aaa suggests that you leave as early as possible or wait until the rush hour is over. heidi, back to you. >> all right. appreciate it pamela brown there at reagan national airport in washington. all right. thank you. rob marciano has been watching all of the weather conditions along woith our viewers at home with our display at the bottom of the screen that we have. sounds to me if not as many people are flying then maybe the airplane itself won't be as

crowded, right? is that a good way to look at it? >> that certainly could be looked at that way. maybe we've done such a good job of scaring everybody that they are staying home. >> like you telling everyone it will rain and they want to play golf. >> newark, philly and laguardia seeing delays. not a huge concern with weather. there is some visibility issues. low clouds and some fog in spots. that's created some of that. also with volume. they are dealing with that at the moment. here's the forecast weather map for today. a couple items of concern. one is this storm down across parts of southern florida. this created rough weather through south florida and we have seen ground delay programs in effect there. they've been lifted. rough weather for the keys and miami and ft. lauderdale. this storm not strong and not a lot of moisture with it but there will be cold air behind it and some wind. we'll see some of that today.

just some spritzing for parts of the northeast today and tomorrow. again, not a lot of heavy rain. and then turkey always shows up typically across the baja of mexico because that's where they celebrate thanksgiving the most. talking about travel. had the opportunity to go see things that a lot of people haven't seen both at delta yesterday and then last week i did a tour of the atlanta airport. you go with lines. you go through security lines. check your bag. you get on a plane and you don't know what happens at the world's busiest airport. i got an opportunity to check out what happens behind the scenes. we're here at the world's busiest airport. thousands of people and planes coming and going every day. do you ever wonder how in the world do they make it work? let's go take a look. a quarter million passengers travel through atlanta

hartsfield-jackson airport every day. first up is getting people to the planes. >> peak time of the day we move about 10,500 passengers an hour. >> reporter: computer controlled trams connected six concourses. we were allowed beyond that to what felt like a secret train station. this is the wizard of oz behind the curtain. >> this is the man behind the curtain here. we always have people standing by to respond to any kind of problem. >> reporter: above ground the runways are inspected three times a day for bad lights, wildlife or any debris that could get into an engine and bring down an aircraft. >> good morning. i would like to start air field inspection giving way to aircraft and holding short of all runways. >> we're on the tarmac doing our inspection and this plane declared an emergency. the fire department was activated. they need to make sure there's no visible fire before they get

it go back to the gate. the airport has five stations equipped with some impressive gear. this is not your typical fire truck. it holds 3,000 gallons of water over 400 gallons of foam. this is specifically made for airplane crashes and/or emergencies. captain, why is this truck built the way it is? it looks like a tank. >> if you had a plane come down and dismantle on the ground, we're in a war zone. they designed for that. designed to go off-road. you don't have to get out of the vehicles to extinguish fire. >> reporter: what you're looking at is what's called a piercing nozzle that can puncture the skin of the aircraft because you can't cut through it by hand and spray the fire inside the aircraft from outside it. luckily that has never been used here. the plane that reported smoke in the cabin, it was given the all clear. just another day at the world's busiest airport.

an aircraft that dismantles apparently is their way of saying an airplane crash. some of the things you didn't get to see there which was wild on the tarmac during the gate area is all of the traffic via catering trucks, luggage handlers, it is really organized chaos. i didn't know which end was up with but they seemed to get it done. amazing to me that they were able to get 3,000 flights off the ground every day relatively seamlessly with those five runways at atl. >> you always wanted to be a pilot, haven't you? >> i have. you know, it's in my blood. i'm kind of the ugly duckling of the family when it comes to that. brother and father are both big airline pilots. >> i doubt that. i'm getting that wrap in my ear right now. i know everyone will watch closely the weather today. rob marciano. later this morning, president obama will participate in the annual white house tradition of turkey pardoning. this year's lucky turkey is

appropriately named courage coming from a farm in princeton, north carolina. his owners have been playing audio recordings from previous thanksgiving pardonings so that courage will be ready for this morning's ceremony. don't want to freak him out. an alternate turkey will be on stand by in case courage is unable to perform his duties after the pardon courage will fly to disney land where he'll serve as grand martial of the thanksgiving day parade and will spend black friday settling in his new home. holiday shopping season about to move into high gear. one economists wants to put the brakes on your gift giving and take a closer look at scrooge economics. i'm a doctor. i'm a spin doctor. i'm here to give you the facts about medicare.

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let's look at our top stories. we're just learning president barack obama is planning to announce a decision on u.s. troop strategy in afghanistan on tuesday night. that announcement will come in a speech at westpoint. the pentagon is making plans to send another 34,000 american troops to afghanistan. high winds are fanning the flames in california's anaheim hills. a wildfire burned 60 acres in that area. ktla says 120 firefighters stayed at the scene overnight. fire officials say they have 10% contained as of this morning and so far there have been no ordered evacuations and no buildings are threatened. many people are flying home to be with loved ones and that includes the crew of the space shuttle "atlantis." this morning the crew undocked from the international space station and on this mission they did restocking and maintenance.

one of the astronaut's wives gave birth while he was in orbit so he's anxious to get home. they'll land in florida on friday. if you are counting the minutes until the start of the holiday shopping season, we want you to listen to this. the average american has 23 gifts to buy this holiday season. they'll spend $218 on those gifts on average and 65% of the money they spend will be money they don't really have. the scariest statistics come from a book called scroogen scroogenomics. joel, thank you for being with us. we'll call you mr. scrooge for our purposes. do people want presents or in this time of the economic troubles that we're having do they want gift cards and money? >> normally i'll spend $50 on

myself if i can find something. normally 11 months of the year spending provides a reasonable measure of satisfaction. the problem with gift giving is that when i go out to buy a gift i'm operating at a huge disadvantage. i don't know what my recipient wants or what she likes. so if i spend $50, i could buy something worth nothing to her. >> that's sad. depressing. not giving gifts, let's be realistic. how many people are really not going to go out and buy presents. it happens once a year. some people plan for it for months. how do you get people to find some sort of middle ground here? maybe that's what we should be talking about. >> i have done a lot of research on gifts that people received over the years and compared to items they received that they prach for themselves. the things they receive as gifts they appreciate 20% less than items they purchase for themselves. that's the basis of my concern

about gift giving. i'm not against gift giving. there's a difference between how successful we are with people we know well and people we see often and we can do a good job buying gifts to them. i'm not against gift giving. i think it works well when we do it for people we know well and see often and especially for kids. i wouldn't want kids to cry around the holiday. >> that would not be good. when you came up with the idea if you will or just thought about it enough to know that it could be something that's done a little bit differently is when the economy is in the situation it is now or have you always thought this? >> i actually had this idea for 15 years. it's not specific to good times or bad times. it's a general idea about how we allocate resources. again, we economists think it works well when we make decisions for ourselves and doesn't work well when others make those decisions for us. >> we talk a lot about consumer spending and what that will mean to the economy. what about the people who say this year even though i don't

have my personal stash like i usually do for the holidays, i am going to go out there and try to pump money into the economy. >> well, spending is good. normally -- spending is good for seller in the sense the seller gets a price that's higher than the cost and therefore some profit and normally the buyer gets satisfaction that's higher than the price and so walks away from the transaction happy as well. with holiday gift giving, the seller gets what the seller wants. a price in excess of the cost and therefore profit. the ultimate consumer, gift recipient, isn't getting something nearly as satisfying as what usual expenditure creates. it's good for the economy but only sort of. >> we appreciate the idea reserving a brain cell for it as we say. joel, appreciate that. our friend, mr. scrooge. thank you so much. >> thank you. we want to take a moment to get over to jill dougherty who is standing by at the white house with a little bit more information for us this morning.

we have been telling everybody that we've been able to confirm that the president is going to make the announcement on troop deployment to afghanistan on tuesday night, 8:00 p.m. will happen from pewestpoint. >> reporter: yes. members of the military will thereby. that's the setting on the extremely important speech by the president on afghanistan. we talked to the press secretary and he shed light on how the president prepared for this and what he will say. he did say if there's one message it's that the united states has been in afghanistan for eight years and the u.s. is not going to be there for another eight to nine years. in other words, there is going to be an end to this as he put it. that it is unsustainable to think both financially and in lives to think that the united states could stay there for a very long time. he did say that the answers that

the president will try to give to the american public that's really on their minds, why are we there? what are the interest of the united states in afghanistan? what's the decision making process as the president went through in reaching this decision? and again, this will be limited. there will be an end to this. he also is apparently going to be talking about the cost. when we tried to press robert gibbs on that issue, will the president get into specific numbers and how it will be paid for, gibbs is not going that far. you can be sure that will be one factor because as gibbs himself said, it's very, very, very expensive. another thing president obama is going to be meeting with members of congress right before this address to the american people. he'll met with them on tuesday at the white house and will be discussing, i'm sure, many of these issues. he'll also be briefing

international leaders as you might expect and then members of his cabinet are expected to go up to capitol hill and testify to various committees. it's a full-court press as i said for this extremely important address. >> one to talk about very expensive beyond the 3,000 american lives that were lost certainly on september 11th. jill dougherty, we sure do appreciate that. we'll follow and watch on tuesday. thanks. >> we'll take a quick break here. give someone a lexus is just the first of many memories you'll make with it. [ children scream ] ♪ [ laughs ] the lexus december to remember sales event, with some of the best values of the year. special lease offers now available on the 2010 rx 350. now through january 4th.

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tomorrow night a special cnn presentation to help instill that holiday mood. cnn heroes. every day people changing the world. on our website you can learn about the amazing things these hero are doing and how you may be able to help. here to explain is our own josh levs. >> inspirational to see what people are doing in really difficult conditions and circumstances. this is the website. cnn.com/heroes. we talk to you about who the top ten for this year are. here is one example. >> when we go out on these missions, i know my life is sometimes on the line. i'm willing to take that risk because the lives of these children mean so much. there is hundreds of thousands of children in iraq who need these. when i do this, it's going to change the life of a child. i have become the source and

supply of children's wheelchairs but even more so the source and supply of hope. >> reporter: that's brad from texas. he's thousands of miles from home from where his family is. he's helping iraqi kids. an estimated one in seven iraqi children ages 2 to 14 lives with a disability according to unicef and brad thousands of miles from his own family is helping them. this is how you can help. look at all of the information about all of the top ten. click on how to help and we get you to their website. you can make a contribution if you want to and get involved. you can get in touch with them. we're hearing from you as well about your heroes and what you think about them. great discussions online right now. also facebook and twitter. i'm looking forward to that show tomorrow. >> not to downplay any of those things that they are doing because really some incredible stories, you got your own incredible story, josh levs. we want to hear it.

josh levs delivered his own baby boy a few days ago in his home and we want to hear. you were on the phone with 911. all the drama you could imagine. actually happened to you. >> when you have a kid no one tells but this obscure thing called labor where basically my wife skipped labor and in our bedroom she was straight into delivery mode. i had the honor of ushering this beautiful child into the world. doing everything i could at the time. i would love to bask in fiction of it but it is really just me doing what i had to do. just trying to do everything right. i think i did what anyone would do. at the end of it we have this beautiful new son. second son. >> perfectly healthy which is fantastic. and this is your first day back on the job so we want to take a minute to talk about it because when we got the e-mail we were freaking out. you were explaining the story in the makeup room so it was a fascinating story. good for you. congratulations to you and your family. it's good to have you back.

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good morning. it's november 25, 2009. here are top stories for you this wednesday morning. a boy deliberately set on fire this hour my interview with michael brewer's parents about that horrific day and their son's long road